Buy Keep Eat Repeat

Did you know the average UK family throws away £730 worth of food every year? With the rising cost of living, we know how important it is to save every penny. Follow our tips and guides below to help you save money on food…

LET’S REDUCE FOOD WASTE!

Did you know that in Greater Manchester, 140,000 tonnes of food waste is put in general waste bins? Three quarters of this food waste could have been avoided too. We are working with councils across Greater Manchester to encourage residents to reduce and recycle their food waste.

Follow our tips below for ‘Buy, Keep, Eat, Repeat’, to help you plan meals, store your food right, use up leftovers and recycle food in your food caddy or bin!

ZERO WASTE RECIPE CARDS

We’ve put together a selection of recipe cards to help you make delicious and affordable meals without creating a ton of food waste

Veggie Base Sauce

Bread Pudding

Cheap
FAKEaway

Veggie Pasta Bake

Quick Veggie Pie

STORING FOOD IN THE FRIDGE:

Here’s our quick handy guide to safely storing food in your fridge, helping you keep food for longer.

WEBSITES THAT MAKE IT EASY:

HUBUB

Reducing food waste

GREENECO FRIEND

Storing food correctly

LOVE FOOD
HATE WASTE

Check your fridge temperature

FOOD STANDARDS

Food safety standards

APPS THAT MAKE IT EASY:

Some restaurants and supermarkets sell their surplus food at the end of the day for a very discounted fee.

Fancy composting but you don’t have the facility? This app lets you find someone nearby with the facility that is happy to accept your scraps!

If you have overbought, you can share with your neighbours what you have that you think you will not use.

If you’re the type of person who always forgets something when grocery shopping, this app is a must.

MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR FOOD:

image of a salad bowl
Put paper towels with your salad. By putting a piece of kitchen roll in your salad and sealing the bag/container you can make it last longer. This will work by absorbing the condensation in the bag and keeping your salad leaves fresher for longer

image of a bunch of bananas
Don’t separate bananas before eating wrap the stems of the bananas in clingfilm when you first buy them, and only snap one off when you’re ready to eat it. This should give you 3-5 extra days of perfectly ripe banana joy.

image of a sack of potatoes
The best way to prevent potatoes sprouting is to keep an apple in the bag – apples produce ethylene gas, which keeps potatoes fresher and firmer.

image of three red apples
Keep apples away from other fruits and veggies, ethylene gas may be good for potatoes, but it’s bad for almost everything else, it will make them ripen quicker, instead keep them in a plastic bag in the fridge

image of the different types of berries
Wash berries in a mixture of 1 cup of vinegar and 3 cups of water before you put them in the fridge – this kills the mould spores, make sure they are dry before storing them

Image of celery
Wrap celery in foil it lets the gas that spoils it escape, rather than trapping it like plastic, so the celery stays crisp long enough

Image of a variety of hers on a chopping board
Fresh herbs can thrive if you store them in a glass of water on the windowsill. Alternatively if you have too many, chop and freeze them in handy ice cube trays, they will last for months and can be easily thrown in a pan and cooked on low. This method is best used with sturdier herbs such as rosemary, thyme, sage, and oregano.

Image of a bowl on sliced mushrooms
Keep mushrooms in a paper bag storing them this way keeps them clean and dry

Avocado
Let avocado ripen at room temperature then put them in the fridge to halt the process and keep them ready to eat. Once you’ve cut them, keep the stone in the remaining half squeeze on a little lemon juice to preserve them even further.

Image of 3 different coloured onions
Put your onions in tights, put them in one at a time, knot between each bulb and keep them in a dark, dry place until you need them.

image of a bowl of raisins
Keep raisins airtight, stores properly they will taste better and last for a long time!

Image of a leaf of lettuce
Limp lettuce can be rehydrate and refresh by separating the leaves and tossing them into a sink full of iced water for anywhere from 5-30 mins.

BUY

  • Plan your meals for the week ahead. By doing this you will only buy what you need to help reduce food going out of date.
  • Check what is left in the fridge and cupboards before you next go shopping.
  • Shop smart. Try local shops for the best deals on your food shop.
  • Look for cheaper deals on wonky vegetables and fruit.

KEEP

  • Check the temperature of your fridge. If the temperature is too high, food will go off easily. Did you know our fridges should be below 5°C? Visit Love Food Hate Waste. to find out how to change your fridge temperature.
  • Check you’re storing food correctly – Love Food Hate Waste have a great Food Storage A to Z.
  • You can put meat, bread, cheese and milk in the freezer before you’re ready to use it – check out Hubbub’s 15 freezer friendly foodsfor other foods you can freeze.

EAT

  • Use fruit in pies and baking.
  • Stir-fry’s are good for using up vegetables.
  • Batch cook to get the most out of your food and save time later, using fresh food first. Check our food blogs for ideas on how to use up leftover ingredients.
  • Save leftovers to eat another day. Try Love Food Hate Waste for leftover food recipes.

REPEAT

  • Use your food caddy or green bin at home for any food waste you may have. Did you know all the food and garden waste collected in Greater Manchester is turned into compost? Find out more about what happens to your food and garden waste.
  • Why not try home composting? This is great for your flowers and vegetables and saves money on buying compost.
  • Make sure you’re putting the right things in your food caddy – check what you can recycle at home.
  • If you do have any leftover store cupboard essentials that are in date, see if it can be donated to a local food bank.
https://twitter.com/recycle4gm/status/1457325712256405505

Recycle for Greater Manchester